Tigard Street Maintenance Update
What is Tigard's Pavement Management Program (PMP) All About?
Streets in good to excellent condition are characterized as having good riding
quality, structure, drainage, and appearance. The total annual maintenance investment is
much less following a preventative maintenance strategy than if
streets were allowed to deteriorate to poor and failed conditions
requiring major rehabilitation.
The PMP is a yearly program of corrective and preventative maintenance on City of
Tigard streets funded by the Street Maintenance Fee (SMF). The program helps to
extend the life of the pavement structure by various means such as slurry
sealing, pavement overlays, and, only where necessary, removing and
replacing portions of failed pavement.
Through this program, the City is able to perform timely maintenance on
City streets to keep them in fair to good condition and avoid costly
reconstruction. More details are available.
Why is it Important?
Collectively, Tigard's 148 miles of paved roads represents one of the biggest investments
owned by the community. Unfortunately pavement deteriorates over time as usage and
weather wears down the top surface, repeated pressures of vehicle loading (especially
from trucks and buses) wears down the underlying structure, and as the ground beneath
the pavement settles. Smooth, long-lasting roads ensure that goods and people can
move efficiently throughout Tigard and the world beyond, and enhance the appearance
of our community. In contrast, roads in poor condition result in increased street
maintenance costs, vehicle repair costs, unpleasant travel, and are detrimental to
the economy of our city. More details are available.
How Do We Pay for Street Maintenance?
The Street Maintenance Fee is a monthly fee designed specifically for the maintenance of
existing roads in Tigard. Monthly fees are collected from both residential and non-residential
customers and are billed and collected through the City's utility billing system. The City
of Tigard sends out utility bills on a bi-monthly schedule (every two months), therefore the
amount shown on your bill is actually for two months.
More details...
Pavement Condition
Tigard's 148-mile paved street network represents an investment of over $140 million,
with an additional $120 million invested in curbing, sidewalks, drainage, and right-of-way.
The City's street infrastructure represents the largest investment owned by Tigard citizens,
and the overall pavement condition represents the health of this network.
More details...
Increase in Fees...Why Now?
Our goal is to use taxpayer dollars as efficiently as possible. Considering
the difficult economy, we are especially aware of the hardship caused by any fee
increase on our residents and businesses. However, we as a community need to
protect our investment in our streets by providing for their proper maintenance.
While the economy makes it more difficult to fund paving work, it does not slow
down the deterioration of our streets.
City leadership has made the difficult
decision to increase fees now, even in difficult economic times, in order to
make efficient use of community dollars, protect our city from higher costs
in the future, and maintain city streets that function well for residents
and businesses.
In a public hearing on December 8, 2009, Council approved an increased Street Maintenance Fee
after a year-long process. During the hearing, members of the business community commented that
the increase was too high during these economic times. In response to those comments, members
of Tigard Council and staff met with several people who testified to listen to their concerns.
Based on those meetings, a new proposal with lower fees was jointly developed which was adopted
by the City Council on January 5, 2010.
Street Maintenance Fee Schedule: Click here.
How Does Tigard Compare?
See the rates of other jurisdictions in our area.
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